The Competition and Markets Authority was given LKP’s insight into the leasehold houses mis-selling scandal yesterday. The meeting was hosted by LKP patrons and APPG co-chairs MPs Sir Peter Bottomley and Jim Fitzpatrick and Justin Madders, the deputy APPG chair on leasehold reform. Mr Madders, a solicitor, has spoken out many times about the mis-selling […]

By Harry Scoffin The property section of The Times has this month been leading on calls to end opaque insurance arrangements for leasehold blocks. In a sign of how leasehold is now dominating the news agenda, the title’s investment editor Mark Atherton has published on the issue of secret commissions over two consecutive Saturdays. Leaseholders […]

By Harry Scoffin APPG co-chair Sir Peter Bottomley lavished praise on Theresa May and her chief of staff Gavin Barwell at prime minister’s questions today. Mr Barwell, a former housing minister, was set to present an award to LKP heads Sebastian O’Kelly and Martin Boyd at a reception in Parliament on Monday but was unable […]

The Leasehold Knowledge Partnership was presented with a prestigious award by the All Party Parliamentary Group for leasehold and commonhold reform, which represents 171 MPs. Former housing minister Gavin Barwell, the current chief of staff of Number 10, was to have presented the award to Sebastian O’Kelly, LKP chief executive, and to Martin Boyd, the […]

Both Long Harbour and debt collectors JB Leitch hit reverse gear after a forfeiture threat to an £800,000 flat over a late £400 ground rent bill was raised publicly by the Leasehold Knowledge Partnership. And JB Leitch has now halved its £2,000 legal costs demand to £1,000. Millie Li, a Chinese citizen, visited China in […]

But the fiddling will go on for as long as leaseholders are not a party to the insurance contract that they are obliged under the lease to pay for The issue of freeholders and managing agents fiddling insurance commissions at leaseholders’ expense was raised in the Times earlier this month. Sir Peter, 74, said that […]

LKP has accused the taxpayer-owned Royal Bank of Scotland of “kicking leaseholders when they are down” in the Financial Times. The issue concerns leaseholders facing forfeiture. This is usually avoided when lenders – whose mortgage is at risk on leases that face forfeiture – step in to settle the debt. RBS censured for tough stance […]

The government was under attack in the Commons today over its inactivity over Grenfell cladding in private blocks of flats. John Healey, Labour shadow housing secretary, made a powerful attack on Housing minister Kit Malthouse, asking “if the government cannot deal with this, what is it in office for?” Mr Malthouse said, “as a result […]

Commonhold is slowly working its way into the national consciousness – 16 years after being introduced to the statute book. Last Friday, Sam Barker in the Daily Telegraph reported the Law Commission’s study of the tenure. Commonhold exists almost all jurisdictions apart from England and Wales, where flats and over a million houses are held […]

A last minute attempt to stop LKP from publishing three legal opinions extremely critical of the government’s bungled reform to Recognised Tenants’ Associations failed last week. The government introduced a statutory instrument in October that has actually made the position of leaseholders worse. The failing was referenced in the Commons by Sir Peter Bottomley with […]

– Select Committee deluged with complaints about taxpayer funded organisation – It failed to alert government to scandals over ground rents and proliferation of leasehold houses – Why did it hold seminars advising freeholders how to exploit leaseholders? – ‘Huge credibility problem’ for LEASE among leaseholders, says MP: it is working against them – Why […]

LKP chair Martin Boyd and Sir Peter Bottomley attended a meeting at Number 10 yesterday to urge government to overturn its flawed statutory instrument to reform recognised tenants’ associations. The MHCLG announced changes in October and made the existing arrangements even worse for leaseholders. The key hurdle faced by leaseholders is to contact their leasehold-owning […]

James Brokenshire is to meet house builders and freehold investors on Thursday … but not with the Leasehold Knowledge Partnership or any other leaseholder body, as Sir Peter Bottomley has recommended. These will include CEOs or senior executives of Taylor Wimpey, Bellway, Persimmon, Barratt, Countryside Properties plc, Redrow, Laing O’Rourke, Morris Homes, Miller Homes, First […]

The Grenfell cladding disaster for private flat owners got another airing last Saturday, this time in the Daily Telegraph. It claims that 143 private blocks have failed the governments fire safety tests involving 20,000 leaseholders. “The Government has said that the building’s owners have a “moral responsibility” to ensure that the bill does not fall […]

MPs turned out in force this morning to meet leasehold demonstrators organised by the National Leasehold Campaign, most of who arrived by coach from the North West. Sir Peter Bottomley and Jim Fitzpatrick, patrons of LKP and co-chairs of the APPG on leasehold reform, were on hand, as was Justin Madders, the deputy chair who […]

LKP is very pleased that today sees the launch of the Law Commision review of the now broken right to manage legislation. The full press release from the Law Commision is set out below: Law reform needed to help leaseholders take control of their buildings Housing Secretary James Brokenshire has asked the Law Commission to […]

Press

MPs don’t like what they see …

It probably seemed a good idea to Sajid Javid, the business secretary, just before Easter to sneak out an announcement that the Land Registry should be sold off. The aim is to reduce government debt – the Leasehold Advisory Service, anyone? – which is odd as the Land Registry actually makes money. Then this week […]

CentreForum invites LKP to contribute to its leasehold report In three weeks time another important report into leasehold is to be published, this time by the liberal think tank CentreForum. Earlier this month LKP was invited to its Queen Anne’s Gate to offer its contributions to report, which – we are assured – were […]

Ground rent scandals

The Guardian today reports on the web of companies run by James Tuttiett, 53, a Winchester-based ground rent fund manager and the boss of E&J Capital Partners. Many of the freeholds of leasehold houses in the North West bought by first-time buyers assisted by the taxpayer-funded Help To Buy scheme belong to the ground rent […]

Portfolio managed by the Tchenguiz interests The John Lewis Partnership Pensions Trust has told a leaseholder that it will ‘disinvest’ in doubling ground rents, which were brought to its attention by ‘a lobbying group’ – LKP. Sean Greenwood, whose wife bought a Taylor Wimpey flat in Dudley, West Midlands, with doubling ground rent raised the […]

… but is the housebuilder going to sting them for £500 deposit? A young couple in Plymouth have walked away from buying a Persimmon leasehold house believing it to be “a property trap”. Zoe and James Naylor were set to buy on Persimmon’s Harford Mews, in Ivybridge, and had paid a deposit of £1,500. According […]

Grenfell cladding

LKP is organising the first forum for leaseholders in private blocks with ACM cladding. The event will take place in Parliament on the 18th July from 6pm to 8pm. As well as hearing from the speakers the meeting will allow leaseholders from different sites with cladding problems and share theier experiences. It will also provide […]

The House of Commons Library today advises MPs and constituents to contact LKP – as well as the Leasehold Advisory Service, which has received extra funding to deal with the issue. The policy is rather different to government’s: LKP has briefed civil servants and advisors numerous times over this issue. But it has never advised […]

When leaseholders unite …

This is the first of 3 articles looking at the history of the RTA project and the findings of the most recent consultation. The stated objective of Ministers since 2014 is to make it easier to form a formal residents group known as a Recognised Tenants Association (RTA). LKP has argued from the outset that […]

Disgraceful …

Sir Peter Bottomley has urged the Commons to intervene in the auction sale of Flat 1 Blythe Court, where the freeholders and managers are Martin Paine and his wife Anne Kirmond. Flat 1 Blythe Court is up for auction with Barnard Marcus on February 2 in central London with a guide price of £65,000. Sir […]